Paper on “the United States has never had a female president”

In the history of the United States, there has never been a female president. Many countries have joined the list of countries with female presidents. A few factors, such as age, gender, political affiliation, and previous record of the candidate affect the voters’ choice consciously or unconsciously. Political experts provide a number of reasons to explain this phenomenon. This paper pursues reasons that have contributed to the lack of a female president in the United States.

Voters have generally shown more preference to male candidates. The primary reason for this behavior is the stereotypes attached to gender. Many people perceive females as emotional and permissive in comparison to males, whom they consider rational and assertive. Voters identify assertiveness and rationality as characteristics that suit persons in authority (Ogletree, Coffee & May, 1992).

The values within a political party also directly affect the chances of having a female president. Democrats tend to be open-minded and liberal, and would consider supporting a female presidential candidate. Republicans are more conservative, and are comfortable with having prolonged male dominance. This general preference by Republicans has resulted in continuous dominance of males as presidential candidates.

The general perception among voters is that the male candidate undoubtedly wins. This has often worked in favor of male candidates who would receive a majority of votes based on this confidence. This ignorant mindset has led to the failure of female aspirants with the potential to lead. It is a perception derived from history where male candidates have always won, and are better political warriors than female candidates are (Hogue & Lord, 2007).

In conclusion, the preference for male presidents is summed up with societal attitude. The voters’ decision is influenced by their attitude towards certain aspirants. This attitude could be influenced by the gender of the candidates or the political party involved. Experts suggest that this state of mind could drastically change once there is a female president, a theory that cannot be proven, as the country is yet to see a female president.